GLITCH – an unconventional film festival

GLITCH 2015, a queer (or LGBT) film festival organised by Scottish charity Digital Desperados, will be held at the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts) in Glasgow from 19th to 28th March.

Digital Desperados, who run free filmmaking courses for women of colour and hold free film screening programmes of films by or about people of colour, will be presenting GLITCH as “a queer, trans, intersex, people of colour (QTIPoC) film festival”.

At GLITCH 2015, entry to all events is free. All films are subtitled, with all live events being BSL interpreted. The venue is fully wheelchair accessible.

GLITCH contains a mixture of features, documentaries and very strong shorts programmes. Filmmakers will be present for Q & A, panel discussions, live performance, music, free haircuts and an after-party!

GLITCH will screening films made by QTIPoC directors as well as movies featuring or documenting or document QTIPoCs. GLITCH differs from many other queer/LGBTI film festivals because, by focusing on the identity of the filmmaker, there is greater scope for screening films on a great diversity of subjects. The festival still contains plenty of queer or LGBTI content in the traditional sense of the word – for example films focusing on LGBT relationships or struggles against homophobia – but goes beyond such subject emphasis and instead focuses on lived realities.

A spokesperson for GLITCH explained: “The festival programme has a significant amount of films with queer content in the commonly understood sense. That’s happened organically because QTIPOC filmmakers are still passionate and preoccupied by what it feels like to be queer and because we want that aspect to be present in the festival. It is often energising, joyful and still all too rare to see people like yourself portrayed in film. But we didn’t want to be restricted by solely assuming some kind of representational role – we wanted to show some of what lies inside us as queer people of colour as full human beings. We especially didn’t want to assume the burden of so called positive representation – that is a burden imposed by homophobic and racist forces in society and we refuse to carry it around! So there are a huge variety of subjects being explored and aesthetic styles mixing and merging in the programme in way that is massively exciting to us!”

In addition to documenting the many dimensions and realities of queer living, GLITCH also aspires to be a “part of challenging racism. People of colour are vastly underrepresented and misrepresented in the medium of film, and discussion about the reality of racism and how it affects the lives of people of colour is constantly shut down. GLITCH is a space that allows for recognition and discussion of racism and its impact upon our lives.”

Accessibility is an issue that has loomed large in the thinking of the festival’s organisers, with particular consideration given to those with disabilities or low incomes. The organisers explain that “as we are ourselves on low incomes we certainly miss out on art events we would like to go to because it’s too expensive – we want GLITCH to be different from that. We want everyone to be welcome – for no-one to be turned away because of low income or poverty.”

GLITCH will be an open, welcoming festival, but also hopes to be challenging – not least in relation to how “queer culture” is often packaged. In rejecting the usual emphasis in favour pursuing the creation of “a contemporary snapshot of queer passions and preoccupations”, GLITCH is confronting cultural norms and expectations, while demonstrating a welcome intellectual honesty.

Nosheen Khwaja, Co-founder and chairperson of Digital Desperados said: “We are so excited to be running the first queer person of colour film festival in Scotland.

“Everyone is welcomed to the festival – you certainly don’t have to identify as LGBTIQ or be a person of colour to be able to enjoy these fascinating films.

“There is a lack of provision for LGBTIQ people in Glasgow – for example it is very unusual for a city of this size not to have an LGBT centre – and we see GLITCH as playing a part in redressing this and creating a place for the queer community to connect.

“We are very grateful to our funders Awards for All, Film Hub Scotland and Ankur Arts and for the support of the CCA without whom this festival would not have been possible.

GLITCH 2015, which includes 28 events and 72 film screenings, will run from 19 – 28 March 2015, at the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts), Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

About Andrew Page

Andrew is KaleidoScot's sports editor and photographer.
An experienced blogger, Andrew was raised in the Hebrides and currently lives in Renfrewshire.
Andrew became an active equality campaigner at the time of the Section 28 debate, and has particular interests in faith issues and promoting LGBTI equality in sport.
Andrew was shortlisted for the Icon Award's 2015 Journalist of the Year.